UNFCU smooths chip card issuance with Gemalto

05 February 2014 | 1811 views | 0Source: Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, is enabling United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) members around the globe to quickly and securely obtain their new Europay-MasterCard-VISA (EMV1) cards.

Through a worldwide network of service centers, Gemalto's Allynis Global Issuance services works seamlessly to issue EMV cards from regional centers that are located closest to the cardholder. Previously, UNFCU's cards had been deployed from just one location in North America.

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Gemalto, having already delivered more than one billion EMV payment cards to clients worldwide, is making the card issuance service easier and more efficient for UNFCU and all its globally located cardholders. With the Allynis Global Issuance services, UNFCU's EMV cards are now produced and distributed from multiple service centers in Europe, the Far East and North America, depending on which has the best proximity to each member's location. The solution reduces delivery times and shipment costs, enables UNFCU members to receive their payment cards when and where they need them.

In 2010, the Long Island City, New York-based UNFCU became the first financial institution in the United States to introduce an EMV credit card. Since adopting EMV, UNFCU has seen lower fraud on its VISA(R) Elite and VISA Azure2 credit card portfolios when transactions are authorized by EMV Chip and PIN capable merchants. As more countries move to this global standard, U.S. travelers are increasingly at a significant disadvantage using the old technology magnetic stripe bank cards, especially when paying for taxis or at unattended kiosks. Beyond this greater convenience, U.S citizens using magnetic stripe payment cards in foreign countries have also a higher exposure rate to fraud than if they were using EMV chip enabled cards.

"We wanted to better assist our international community with a highly responsive service for lost card replacement and for first-time card issued to a member leaving for an overseas mission," said Merrill Halpern, Assistant Vice President of Card Services at UNFCU, who is also a member of the EMVCo Board of Advisors. "With Gemalto's extensive global EMV deployment experience and multi-site facilities, we now have the ability to provide cards to members in the field in a timely manner, no matter where they are."

"Gemalto's technology is providing UNFCU cardholders with a more secure and convenient experience at home or abroad," said Sebastien Cano, President North America at Gemalto. "With our certified issuance centers located around the globe we are able to ensure our clients have a prompt solution for credit card replacement, which is especially important for UNFCU, who has a member base of some of the world's most mobile individuals."

1 EMV is the global standard in payment security deployed in over 120 countries, and the October 2015 liability shift has the U.S. market poised to embrace the convenience and security benefits of EMV technology.

2 The UNFCU EMV cards VISA(R) Elite and VISA(R) Azure can be used anywhere in the world, as UNFCU members live in or travel to more than 200 countries and territories